France

PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday told his Finnish counterpart that France fully supported the country's choice to join NATO, the Elysee presidential office said in a statement.

Finland must apply to join the NATO military alliance "without delay", its president and prime minister said on Thursday, in a historic policy shift triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

12 May 2022; MEMO: French prosecutors have opened an investigation into global police agency Interpol President, Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi over allegations that he may have been an accomplice to torture, an official said, and Reuters reports.

Raisi, a United Arab Emirates official, was appointed President of Interpol, which is headquartered in France, in November 2021 despite accusations from rights groups that he had failed to act on allegations of torture of detainees in the UAE.

NEUILLY-SUR-SEINE, France, May 10 (Reuters) - The Russian military's failure to seize the Ukrainian capital was inevitable because in the preceding years they had never directly faced a powerful enemy, according to a former mercenary with the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group who fought alongside the Russian army.

Marat Gabidullin took part in Wagner Group missions on the Kremlin's behalf in Syria and in a previous conflict in Ukraine, before deciding to go public about his experience inside the secretive private military company.

PARIS, May 9 (Reuters) - Europe must learn from its past mistakes and make sure no side is humiliated when Russia and Ukraine negotiate for peace, France's president said after describing Vladimir Putin's World War Two anniversary speech as "intimidation" and "warlike".

Addressing massed ranks of service personnel on Red Square on the 77th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, Putin on Monday condemned what he called external threats to weaken and divide Russia. 

PARIS (AP) — President Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated for a second term on Saturday, vowing to first take action to avoid any further escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine before going on to focus on promoting France and Europe on the world stage.

Macron was reelected for five years on April 24 in a runoff that saw him beat out far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

“The time ahead will be that of resolute action for France and for Europe,” Macron said. He promised to “first take action to avoid any escalation following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.”

06 May 2022; MEMO: A mosque affiliated with Turkiye's Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in France's north-eastern province of Metz was attacked on Thursday night, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The mosque was damaged in a fire that broke out after unknown persons lobbed three Molotov cocktails on the walls of the mosque.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Ali Durak, President of the Mosque Association, said the mosque was saved from being completely burned down at the last moment.

PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - France's Socialist Party on Friday sealed a coalition deal with the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) party to run together in June's parliamentary elections to try to deprive newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron of a majority.

"From now on, we are going to campaign together," said Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure.

PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - France's Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) agreed in principle on Wednesday to run together in June parliamentary elections and try to deprive newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron of a majority.

If confirmed, the coalition pact, which the Greens and Communists approved earlier this week, will be the first time the French left has united in 20 years - but under the helm of the eurosceptic, leftist LFI this time around.

PARIS, May 3 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Tuesday that he is willing to work with international organisations to help lift the Russian embargo on Ukrainian food exports via the Black Sea, Macron's office said.

The Elysee office also said Macron had reiterated that a ceasefire was needed in Ukraine and that he had told Putin that he was deeply concerned about the situation in Donbas and Mariupol.

PARIS (AP) — Citizens and trade unions in cities around Europe were taking to the streets on Sunday for May Day marches, and to put out protest messages to their governments, notably in France where the holiday to honor workers was being used as a rallying cry against newly reelected President Emmanuel Macron.